Guest Column: What mom wants: appreciation, and maybe something practical

Happy Mother's Day. It's the day to pamper mothers with flowers, gifts, chocolates and meals that exceed the weekly recommended dietary allowance of sugar and fat grams.

Interactive version of 'Dinotrux' for iPad makes tale come alive

"Aaaaaaa-choooo!"

Glassmans giving book to Vail, TUSD kindergartners

All kindergartners in the Tucson Unified and Vail school districts should be taking home a free, new book that they can keep.

Fest writes the book on fun and learning

Gather 400 or so of the top authors in every genre from across the country. Organize 320 author presentations, panel discussions and workshops.

Star lineup: experts on words, war and puzzles

The Second Amendment does not grant the right to bear arms - it affirms the right.

Festival names 3 literary winners

Three Southwest-area writers took the top prizes in the Tucson Festival of Books first Literary Awards Competition, festival officials announced.

Celebrate Festival of books 5.0

The Tucson Festival of Books is five years old, yet it's brand new. The family-friendly community celebration of reading and literacy taking place March 9-10 will once again gather great authors and compelling topics and raise money to support literacy.

Tucson couple splits from Swensen's, scoops out on own

Kathy and Jerry Sullivan launch namesake ice creamery and restaurant from remnants of national restaurant chain.

Director keeps things moving in IT's 'Mesa'

"Mesa" brings the question "are we there yet?" to life.

Tucson food trucks hosting pork pig-out

Diners can sample pork dishes then choose the best of the bunch.

Spear-point site in SE Ariz. gets landmark status

The 0.3-mile interpretive trail at the Murray Springs Clovis Site features exhibits on life in the Ice Age. 

Crisp-rice-treat throwdown

Simply, decadent and just in time for Halloween.

The great pumpkin

Caption unavailable

The great pumpkin

Versatile pumpkin is a favorite winter squash and fall's finest flavor.

Pumpkin-pAlooza

Frost's pumpkin gelato.

Pumpkin-palooza comes to Tucson menus

From desserts to entrees, it's time to test pumpkin's culinary flexibility.

Pima County pictorial history dovetails with centennial

A pictorial history of Pima County released last week celebrates Arizona's centennial.

Chris Gall's an illustrator-of-all-trades

Parents may be familiar with Chris Gall from reading their children bedtime stories.

Every picture tells a story

Editor's note: The Star continues its occasional series on artists who call the Old Pueblo home. Today: illustrator and author Chris Gall.

Welding form to function

Editor's note: The Star continues its occasional series on artists who call the Old Pueblo home. Today: metal artist Tidhar "Tidi" Ozeri.

Why bunnies, eggs, hats and parades are Easter symbols

Bunnies, baskets and bonnets are harbingers of the secular celebration of Easter.

Test your knowledge, then enjoy book fest

The fourth edition of the annual Tucson Festival of Books, the communitywide über-event, unfolds next weekend.

Follow your nose at book festival

Something's cooking at the Tucson Festival of Books. Literally.

Writer tells of career at ad agency in 1960s

Quick - without looking at YouTube - what product was being advertised in the pre-Super Bowl commercial that featured dogs barking and howling out the "Star Wars" theme?

Financial writer: It takes 2 for a swindle

The cost of the Bernie Madoff scandal was much more than the $65 billion he ripped off from his closest friends and family members.

Tucson, book fest: 'It's a great fit'

Brain games and belly laughs, betrayal and three-martini lunches, juggling and a ukulele are a few of things that will leap from newspaper page to the stage of the Arizona Daily Star Pavilion at the Tucson Festival of Books.

UA this week: lecture on education by Noam Chomsky

Author. Activist. Academic. Advocate. Agitator. Anarchist.

Who's who of authors will grace book festival

Best-selling authors and recipients of top literary prizes lead the parade of 400 to 450 authors in the Fourth Annual Tucson Festival of Books.

'Perfect Storm' writer tackles reality of 'War'

Sebastian Junger is an extreme writer.

Books fest 'a gift to the community'

"What's not to like?" author Laura Fitzgerald rhetorically asks, speaking of the Tucson Festival of Books, which is writing its fourth chapter this year.

'Sweeney Todd' begins bloody run Saturday

"More hot pies!" The demand of 40 unified, harmonious voices wafts through the evening air in the courtyard of the Temple of Music and Art.

'Sweeney todd' is a cut above

"More hot pies!" The demand of 40 unified, harmonious voices wafts through the evening air in the courtyard of the Temple of Music and Art.

Love, loyalty build resilient family bonds

"Take her back," a physician advised anxious parents Peter and Patricia Likins, as though their weeks-old adopted baby girl, Lora, was a malfunctioning kitchen appliance.

Horwitz, reporter partner helped bring justice in intern murder case

Finding justice

Harrison believes he's a poet first

Jim Harrison selected this poem from his book "In Search of Small Gods."

Celebrate the book

In only its third year, the Tucson Festival of Books has established itself as an engaging, family-friendly community institution that meets its founders' goals of celebrating great authors and their books and raising money to support literacy.

Brad Meltzer: Seeking the extraordinary in the ordinary

Brad Meltzer knows the location of the tunnels beneath the White House. He's been in the tunnels that run under Disney World.

Annette Gordon-Reed: Analyzing an accidental president

The United States is still dealing with the effects of the presidency of Andrew Johnson, consistently ranked among the worst presidents.

Rare, antique book trilogy: Discussion, auction, appraisal

Turning thin, crisp, brown-edged pages. Admiring the brush strokes of an antiquated typeface. Smelling a rich, musty aged scent. Waiting for the soft plop of hardcover book closing.

Jonathan Eig: Finding the facts behind Capone mystique

Just about every Chicagoan has an Al Capone story. And most of them are myths.

Star Pavilion tests bounds of time, space

The Arizona Daily Star Pavilion at the Tucson Festival of Books is a literary treasure chest of the past and the present that stretches to the outermost reaches of our solar system.

Mike Brown: Explaining the science behind 'killing' Pluto

Mike Brown is an academic, a serious scientist who brought the farthest reaches of our solar system down to Earth.

Readers can get their nonfiction fix at annual event

Nonfiction blends information and imagination.

Farewell to Star family; greetings to new possibilities

"I dwell in possibility."

An Arizona for all

Arizonans love their state, but it can do better. Much better. That's the conclusion of "The Arizona We Want," a report by The Center for the Future of Arizona, based on a Gallup Organization public opinion research survey to find out what Arizonans are thinking.

Imagine Greater Tucson's goal is values-based vision

Our community is like a rudderless ship, gently bobbing along. It is a rather pleasant ride. The ship is sturdy; it's not sinking. But the ship is meandering aimlessly.

Lessons from Albuquerque

Albuquerque

Lessons from Albuquerque

Executive training needed

President Barack Obama and Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, opposites on the political spectrum, are struggling with the transition from legislators to executives.

Conversation starter

Imagine an Arizona where political and ideological differences did not create antagonism and polarization, but were the basis for conversation that built bridges.